Considered for a long time as an eternal runner-up, the Russian gymnast finally made it to the top when, to everyone's surprise, he won the all-round competition at the 1988 Seoul games, defeating fellow-countryman Bilozertchev, the undisputed favourite. He also won on three apparatus, bringing his total to four gold medals, and one silver for the floor exercises. He also won three world titles for parallel bars, his speciality.